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It’s true no letter has surfaced from her vouching for the association. But there is evidence one was written.

It’s true lawyers write a lot of letters, but it’s surprising that Ms Gillard could not remember this particular letter.

It’s also true the association was not a union. But its full title was the AWU Workplace Reform Association and the prime movers were two AWU officials, Bruce Wilson and Ralph Blewitt.

Western Australia’s Associations Incorporation Act allows for bodies to be established for “political purposes", which appears to give scope for what Ms Gillard later described as a union “slush fund" for re-electing officials promoting safety at work.

Section 8 of the law says the state corporate affairs commissioner should not incorporate an association by a name that is “likely to mislead the public as to the object or purpose of the association".

It’s an offence to make false and misleading statements to the commissioner, which carries a $500 fine. The opposition argues there is also the State Crimes Act but it needs more legs to make that argument run.

Moreover, the extra snippet of 1995 transcript released this week had Ms Gillard saying she had no role in setting up bank accounts, or any involvement with the association once it was incorporated.

Yet Ms Gillard and Slater & Gordon were aware of association bank accounts by at least September 1995. The AWU national leadership knew of Victorian-based slush funds by then and reckon they did not learn about the WA-based association until the following April.

Ms Gillard says she could not report what she did not know. Slater & Gordon says it was bound by client confidentiality, even though the AWU and Mr Wilson had switched their business to a rival law firm, Maurice Blackburn.

As things stand, the Opposition needs more hard evidence to make things stick. But that’s nothing for Labor to crow about.